Monday, December 26, 2016

Minda
and Harle (“Linda with an M and Karl with an H,” they told me J) arrived in the Valley as part of
a central/south Texas blitz to add to their life lists, and having already
gotten many of the “Valley specialties” in Corpus and at the King Ranch, what
was left were specific targets – some easy, some impossible! JHarle had really done his homework, and had created what he called his
“Blue Book” from EBird data as to what was most probable when and where, so he
understood that a lot of things on his “wish list” were unlikely, but we still
had fun trying to nail down some of the more likely suspects.The original itinerary I had planned was itself impossible,
as it would have covered parts of both Hidalgo and Cameron Counties
(realistically, you should stick to one or the other during the course of a
day), and we ended up spending more time than planned trying to bag what are
ordinarily easy birds but were being obstinate this day, so that along with
some circumstances that were beyond our control, we missed some key species,
but what we did get was awesome!

We
started the day at a foggy Santa Ana NWR where three potential targets (Fulvous
Whistling Duck, Glossy Ibis, and Sedge Wren) had been reported, and thanks to a
tip from Ranger Raul, we found one lingering Fulvous in the entrance pond!We then sat at the feeders for about five minutes,
hoping for a Buff-bellied Hummingbird to come in, but what came in instead was
a whole herd of Chachalacas, some of which I thought were gonna jump in our
laps!(They undoubtedly thought we were
the ones with the food…)No hummingbird,
so we headed onto the Chachalaca Trail, where Carolina Wrens sang and Olive
Sparrows seeped (thankfully not needed J),
and once at Willow Lakes we enjoyed a Harris’ Hawk pair and several ducks.We were on our way to Pintail Lakes when we
saw three dark ibis fly into Willow 3 (or whichever one is by the wooden
overlook), so we hoofed it back until we could get a good window, and sure
enough, one of them had a leaden face and dark eye!Bingo!A nice Beardless Tyrannulet called for us as we headed to Pintail Lakes.

Fuzzy Fulvous Whistling Duck, a scarce bird this time of year

Minda enjoys a close encounter with a Chachalaca!

Checking out the Harris' Hawks at Willow Lake

Not the best shots, but the dark eye and grayish face ID this dark ibis as a Glossy, which is considered accidental in the Valley, but may end up being more regular than originally thought once people know what to look for!

Here, the red eye and more pinkish face of the more expected White-faced Ibis is apparent.

Heading
out on the service road, the minute we stepped out into the open a gorgeous
White-tailed Kite flew in and hovered right in front of us in perfect
light!As we approached the “Sedge Wren
Spot” we heard Yellowthroats and Marsh Wrens a-plenty, and while hiking down to
get a better view sun-wise, we were looking at a Savannah Sparrow when a
different sparrow appeared in the view, and it turned into one of their target
sparrows:a beautiful Grasshopper!And he stayed put for many minutes!!A second bird came in later, so that was
extra special; they almost upstaged the Green Kingfisher pair that was having a
marital spat! JIn the shorebird department we got good
comparative views of both sizes of yellowlegs, a Solitary Sandpiper that was fairly
close to the trail, and snipe after snipe flew by; it was really something!On the way back we did indeed hear the Sedge
Wren a couple of times, but it never did come up (not surprised); while trying
to pish him up a flock of Snow Geese called in the distance.On the way back a nice Altamira Oriole gave
brief views.

Hovering White-tailed Kite

Grasshopper Sparrow

Female Green Kingfisher (also below)

Sprague’s
Pipit was also high on their list, so since I had seen some on Border Road just north of the refuge in the past,
we decided to give that road a try.Unfortunately the wind was picking up, and although I did hear both an
American Pipit and Horned Lark, nothing showed themselves except a group of
Savannah Sparrows; even the normally reliable Burrowing Owl was a no-show.We at least added Red-tailed Hawk for the
day, and also stopped at my “sparrow corner” where I had had Cassin’s, Vesper,
and Clay-colored Sparrows during past Christmas Counts (all on their target list),
but the wind was just keeping everything down (except a Harrier that flew
by).The cane fields prompted the story
of how they burn the fields from the outside in, and play repeated recordings
in both English and Spanish to warn people who may be hiding in there to get
out NOW!

So
we headed on over to Estero Llano Grande, where I left Minda and Harle on deck
while getting us checked in, and pinned down Rangers John and Javier and Park
Host Huck for any tips on our targets; the good news was that the Pauraque and
“McCall’s” Screech Owl were showing well, but the bad news was that the Stilt
Sandpipers hadn’t been seen in their usual spot off the levee.I thanked them, and after we had gotten our
fill of Ducks from the Deck, we sat at the hummingbird feeders for about 15
minutes where an Archilocus hummer
came in, but no Buffbelly (at least visually; the thing was chirping
off-stage…)

Deciding
to go for the Pauraque and try the hummers later, we headed out to Alligator
Lake, where we ran into Ranger Jose who was “digibinning” a Soft-shelled Turtle
on a rock!Minda found an Anhinga next
to shore, and the Yellow-crowned Night Herons showed well, with one
Black-crowned amongst them.Harle had
walked on ahead looking for the Pauraque, and I chuckled a bit at the fact that
he had walked right past them, so Minda and I went to “the spot”, and sure
enough, there was the Pauraque right by the barrier, about three feet
away!We called Harle back, but even so
it was hard to get both of them on the bird, only because they couldn’t believe
it was “right there”!Minda actually
found a second bird that I had been standing right next to but the view was
blocked by a little trunk!They turned
out to be the Bird of the Day for sure!We then circled around the owl box,
pretending that we were ignoring him until we got way past, then looked back to
see this little cutie sitting in his hole!Our local race of Screech Owl is a candidate for a split into
“McCall’s”, so I wanted them to be able to put this one in the bank!

Anhinga

Yellow-crowned Night Heron

Soft-shelled Turtle

Harle on the lookout for the Pauraque

"I see you!"

Minda finds a second bird!

"McCall's" Screech Owl

Huck
had called me at the Pauraque spot and reported that they did indeed have some
Stilt Sands up on the levee, so we headed up there (but not before enjoying three species of turtles lined up where the Softshell had been), where the winds were gale
force!We added Osprey, Avocets, and
White Pelicans to the list, and we did indeed see some paler shorebirds down
the way, but with the wind it was hard to tell, and just as I was stepping away
from the scope to let Harle have a look, a car on the other side of the levee
spooked them all, never to return, so that was that… LWe came back by way of the grasslands in hopes of kicking up an odd
sparrow but enjoyed a brilliant Vermilion Flycatcher instead, and the ducks
from the vantage point of the boardwalk were glorious, especially the Cinnamon
Teal pair!Another 15 watch at the
feeders proved fruitless, however, and while watching the feeders by the
building (Harle had gotten a quick glimpse of one and called us over), Park
Hostess May Snider came along and invited us to sit at their feeders outside their RV, as a Buffbelly was ferociously
guarding that feeder!So we did so, and
another 15 minutes only produced out-of-sight chittering by the blighter, so
just as we were about to give up and leave, in he came in all his glory, the
sun blasting off that green throat like emerald lightning!Just as quickly he was gone, and that was the
end of the show, but what a show!

L-R: Softshell Turtle, Red-eared Slider, and Yellow Mud Turtle

Close-up of the mud turtle

Vermilion Flycatcher

Northern Pintail

Cinnamon Teal pair

Harle, May Snider, and Minda ponder the Buff-bellied Hummingbird that just got away...

Staking out Rick and May's feeders at their RV!

Considering
the time, I thought it prudent to try Quinta Mazatlan for Clay-colored Thrush
and Anzalduas for the pipit; we voted on hitting Anzalduas first as the pipit
would be the easier of the two to bag, only when we got there, it was
closed!!And it wasn’t the holiday
yet!!We figured that maybe because both
Christmas Eve and Christmas fell on the weekend this year, that the county was
giving them both Friday and Monday off, but who woulda thunk? LSo we headed over to Quinta Mazatlan, only to find that they were
closed, too!!(Probably for the same
reason…)The saving grace there was a
Tropical Kingbird (another target) that finally decided to vocalize for us!

Trying
to think fast (not a strong point of mine), I figured with the time we had,
maybe blasting over to the feeders at Bentsen might be the best shot at the
Clay-colored Thrush, so that’s where we went, and while I was checking us in,
another Buff-bellied Hummingbird showed up at their feeders, and lingered enough for Minda to get a picture!A thrush had been reported around the VC
area, but we couldn’t kick one up, so we headed straight to the feeders where
Ranger Karla put out some PB mixture, which the Green Jays and Redwings went
after with relish!A Sharp-shinned Hawk
broke up the party (no thrush L) but a pair of
Black Phoebes at the canal was a nice addition for the day, making the total 85 species for the day! Bird List:

Monday, December 12, 2016

I was anxious to test Merle's theory that the cold weather would bring in the orioles, so Bob, Mary Ann, and I piled in the car and headed up to Salineno! Coming down the entrance road a beautiful Harris' Hawk posed for Bob, so that was a good start!

I warned everyone to bundle up good (highs would remain in the 40s, which is frigid for the Valley), and the feeders didn't disappoint this time: Bob was happy (so I was happy) shooting Golden-fronted and Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, Green Jays, Kiskadees, a Long-billed Thrasher, Inca, White-tipped, and White-winged Doves, and even Red-winged Blackbirds! The Altamira Oriole put on a great show, and although the Audubon's had shown up earlier, he didn't come in while we were there.

Altamira Oriole (above and below)

Pretending to be a hummingbird...

Getting a mouthful of that peanut butter mixture...

Up close and personal

Green Jay feeding his face

Great Kiskadee

Eyeing the PB mixture...

Northern Cardinal

Golden-fronted Woodpecker

Eyeing the grapefruit...

Long-billed Thrasher

Some Longbills can look as rusty as their cousins the Brown Thrasher!

Also eyeing the PB stuff...

Female Ladder-backed Woodpecker

After viewing the Rio Grande just so they could say they saw it (and shooting a nice Osprey on our side), we headed over to Falcon State Park just to see if we could kick up a Roadrunner or Caracara or other desert specialty along the roads (we started to take the Dump Road, then thought better of it after seeing the condition it was in...). No Roadrunner; in fact, it was frustratingly quiet, but another Osprey posed with a fish, and in the campground where someone was feeding the birds, a Bobwhite had joined the blackbirds and doves! We had some distant White Pelicans and herons at the lake, but nothing close enough for photos.

Osprey at the Salineno boat ramp

Immature Osprey at Falcon SP with lunch

Northern Bobwhite

The next feeder area was Bentsen Rio Grande State Park, which had been jumping the day I took Gary and his sons there, but what a difference the cold weather made! Ranger Karla informed me that we were visitors numbers 4, 5, and 6 all day - that's how miserable it was out! We walked up to the Nature Center feeders which were eerily empty, and even though there was seed and some PB in the holes, the gal on duty said the birds just weren't coming out! Not to be dissuaded, I suggested we sit in the swings for about ten minutes to give stuff time to get used to our presence and come in. The Green Jays didn't have a problem swooping in, but I was sweating the Chachalacas, as that was the target bird I was hoping for! I was gazing elsewhere trying to come up with a backup plan when I happened to see Bob's camera pointed my direction, and there were the Chachalacas, right in front of us! Whew!

Mary Ann points something out to Bob on the way into Bentsen

Shooting Green Jays at the Nature Center feeders

The Chachalaca shows up!

From there we walked down to the Resaca (the two feeder areas between "here and there" were dead as well), where the "Resaca Fence" at least had some Redwings, doves, and a single Kiskadee coming in to drink! Before long Ranger Roy rolled in with who must have been visitors 1 and 2 (or 2 and 3), with their sole target being a Ringed Kingfisher, and thankfully one flew in! All of us (including Bob and Mary Ann) were able to get great looks, but unfortunately the viewing window as too narrow and the distance too great to get a decent picture before the bird flew...

Sweet-looking Mourning Dove

Kiskadee at the "reflecting pool"

Time had gotten away from us, so we headed out, adding some Clay-colored Thrushes following a flock of Green Jays, and a cooperative Killdeer posed for pictures as we rolled out. My plans to hit Estero again went out the window as I realized it would be sunset by the time we got there, but I thought that maybe, just maybe, we'd be able to catch the Green Parakeet Show on 10th Street. Traffic held us up, and while we finally found some parakeets in with the grackles on Trenton, it was too dark for pictures...

We actually didn't get many more birds than we had gotten the day before, but at least we didn't get wet! Bird list: